Category Archives: Economy

A simple country boy’s solution to the budget “crisis”

Some conservatives see all these fact-laden critiques of our various GOP manufactroversies (see Ryan, Paul) and wonder where are the Democratic plans to solve the financial crisis? (I have been asked this, quite vehemently, myself.) The informed reply goes something like this: The crisis isn’t real. It’s been fabricated by the neo-liberal politicians whose goal is to eliminate all taxes

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Journalism Accomplished: why aren’t news organizations telling the whole truth in Wisconsin and why aren’t the state’s conservatives demanding secession?

I tend to avoid programs produced by major network news divisions like I would the galloping herpes, but I do occasionally tune into CBS Sunday Morning. In its better moments, Charles Osgood helms a tranquil, reflective magazine foregrounding the people, places and things that define what’s best about American culture. At its worst, of course, it’s just another fair and

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Positive freedom vs. negative freedom: what are your dreams on Martin Luther King Day?

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream, and by now hopefully most of us have heard the famous speech where he explained that magnificent vision. We have dreams, too, every one of us. Not all of our dreams are lofty and worthy, though. Not all of our dreams make the world a better place. Some of our dreams are

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California should secede from the Union: a semi-modest proposal

You may have heard that the State of California is facing a monster deficit. Figures bounce around a bit, but most estimates have the shortfall at or near $28 billion, and the mess has Gov. Jerry Brown pondering Armageddon: enough posturing and arguing – he seems prepared to let the citizenry see how it feels about the reality of shutting

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Americans and employment: the dehumanizing toll of efficiency

A few years ago I invented a word: euphemasia , a hybrid between euphemism and euthanasia. euphemasia – noun: the act of putting the truth out of its misery by cynically substituting an inoffensive expression for one that is considered offensive or damaging to the personal, political or economic interests of the party using the term. Also, the inverse, cynically

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What would a progressive society look like? The Tricentennial Manifesto

One of my lists is currently engaged in a fairly dynamic discussion about “what is a progressive?” In thinking about the issue, I realized that it might help to ask the question a slightly different way: what would a progressive society look like? Maybe I can better understand what it means to be progressive in 2010 if I reverse-engineer the

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It’s time for progressives to forget about winning the battle and start concentrating on winning the war

It was Sun Tzu, I believe, who first suggested that in order to win the war, you sometimes have to lose the battle. This precept has been on my mind quite a bit since the results of the recent election began rolling in. For instance… Earlier today one of my political lists was discussing the aftermath of the elections and

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Hickenlooper for Colorado: latest ad is pure doublespeak and John ought to know better

I’d like to ask you to consider the following hypothetical people. Bob lives and works in Denver. He earns $50,000 per year in a position that’s focused on improving his city. He has a wife and two children, pays his taxes, is a member of various civic organizations, and is regarded by those who know him as a productive member

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Looking for work? Job ad of the day

Now this, this sounds like a great place to work. (I’ll post the entire text of the ad a) in case it disappears, and b) because it seems to be posted a number of places online.) TRUTH AND HONESTY WRITERS AND EDITORS (East Denver) Wanted – Editors/Writers To Sift Through 10 Years Of Our Truth And Honesty Writings Into Approximately

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Welcome to Colorado Springs, America’s teabagger paradise

Colorado is a beautiful place and it always ranks right at the top of those most desirable places to live rankings (heck, a new poll says the People’s Republic of Boulder is the happiest place in America), but be clear about one thing before you pack up the family to head this way: a consistent voting majority of our citizens

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Fixing America

We rarely do link-throughs, but I came across an interesting conversation yesterday. It began with Don Peck’s Atlantic essay on “How a New Jobless Era Will Transform America,” and then quickly moved on to our friend Ian Welsh’s thought-provoking reply. A snippet: Because any economic growth right now increases the prices of oil, which then strangles the economy, you must

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